Atheist Nexus2017-08-18T03:41:43ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephShttp://api.ning.com:80/files/wWCfc0zEZZw-kdFSybh9cW8bJQp4rTAnDdIxcIm-QrbNdh2b03Ig1uecr-V02xQQgQqVF6gNL3y*XgHdvh2dTAi5D1OhAbLP/WWavatar.jpg?width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://atheistnexus.org/group/atheistnews/forum/topic/listForContributor?groupUrl=atheistnews&user=2212h7ukw07nd&feed=yes&xn_auth=noTerrorist attack in Sweden, multiple deaths reported.tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-04-08:2182797:Topic:27443542017-04-08T11:04:31.947ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p><a href="https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/article/43585bfd19b2bc4bb6df55a3637412cd0df36707783dff69fcb07e59bdb18b4f.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" height="261" src="https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/article/43585bfd19b2bc4bb6df55a3637412cd0df36707783dff69fcb07e59bdb18b4f.jpg" width="427"></img></a> Hijacked truck plowed into people on one of Stockholm's most popular shopping streets. Currently four people are reported dead, fifteen injured.…</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/article/43585bfd19b2bc4bb6df55a3637412cd0df36707783dff69fcb07e59bdb18b4f.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thelocal.se/userdata/images/article/43585bfd19b2bc4bb6df55a3637412cd0df36707783dff69fcb07e59bdb18b4f.jpg" class="align-center" width="427" height="261"/></a>Hijacked truck plowed into people on one of Stockholm's most popular shopping streets. Currently four people are reported dead, fifteen injured.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20170407/live-truck-drives-into-crowd-on-busy-stockholm-street" target="_blank">Link</a></p>
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<p></p> Christian Jihad Poisedtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-03-03:2182797:Topic:27387272017-03-03T23:28:21.052ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #800080;">While Trump has flip-flopped on a variety of issues, Pence has been a reliable stalwart throughout his public life in the cause of Christian jihad.</span></strong></p>
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<p><a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/mike-pence-will-be-the-most-powerful-christian-supremacist-in-us-history/" target="_blank">MIKE PENCE WILL BE THE MOST POWERFUL CHRISTIAN SUPREMACIST IN U.S. HISTORY…</a></p>
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<blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #800080;">While Trump has flip-flopped on a variety of issues, Pence has been a reliable stalwart throughout his public life in the cause of Christian jihad.</span></strong></p>
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<p><a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/mike-pence-will-be-the-most-powerful-christian-supremacist-in-us-history/" target="_blank">MIKE PENCE WILL BE THE MOST POWERFUL CHRISTIAN SUPREMACIST IN U.S. HISTORY</a></p>
<p><a href="https://prod01-cdn07.cdn.firstlook.org/wp-uploads/sites/1/2016/11/pence-christian-2-article.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://prod01-cdn07.cdn.firstlook.org/wp-uploads/sites/1/2016/11/pence-christian-2-article.jpg?width=400" width="400" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Mike Pence has a close relationship with Blackwater founder ErikPrince who represents the Christian supremacist movement. He called Watergate conspirator Charles “Chuck” Colson, the author of Nixon’s enemies list, a dear friend and mentor. They work for a religious/political future, a faith-based revolution, where extremist Christians set US policy agenda.</p>
<blockquote>Pence’s ascent to the second most powerful position in the U.S. government is a tremendous coup for the radical religious right.<p>Trump is a Trojan horse for a cabal of <strong>vicious zealot</strong>s who <strong>have long craved an extremist Christian theocracy, and Pence is one of its most prized warriors</strong>.</p>
<p>“<strong>The enemy, to them, is secularism. They want a God-led government.</strong> That’s the only legitimate government,” <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/7/21/reporter_who_unearthed_pence_radio_tapes">contends</a> Jeff Sharlet, author of two books on the radical religious right, including “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060559793/the-family">The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power</a>.” “So when they speak of business, they’re speaking not of something separate from God, but they’re speaking of what, in Mike Pence’s circles, would be called biblical capitalism, the idea that this economic system is God-ordained.”</p>
<p>… Pence’s selection portends a governing apocalypse. </p>
<p>… , <strong>Pence has been a reliable stalwart throughout his public life in the cause of Christian jihad</strong> — never wavering in his commitment to America-First militarism, the criminalizing of abortion, and utter hatred for gay people …</p>
<p> Pence is <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll153.xml">against</a> whistleblower <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/985">protections</a> that would prohibit retaliation for reporting crimes or misdeeds. In 2002, the ACLU gave him a 7 percent <a href="http://www.ontheissues.org/Governor/Mike_Pence_Civil_Rights.htm">rating</a> on civil rights.</p>
<p> Both in rhetoric and policy, Pence has compared “radical Islam” to the “evil empire of the Soviet Union” and <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/09/11/exclusive-gov-mike-pence-on-911-says-america-must-elect-a-president-who-will-name-the-enemy-radical-islamic-terrorism/">said</a> that he and Trump will “name the enemy” and “marshal the resources of our nation and our allies to hunt them down and destroy them before they threaten us.”</p>
<p>“We’ll see Roe v. Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs,” Pence promised. He has long sought to have 14th Amendment protections applied to fetuses, arguing that they should be declared persons.</p>
<p>Pence believes “the only truly safe sex … is no sex” and once (falsely) <a href="http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/15/wbr.00.html">claimed</a> on CNN that “condoms are a very, very poor protection against sexually transmitted diseases.”</p>
<p>Pence denounced activists and others protesting recent police killings of unarmed African-Americans,…</p>
<p>Pence is a strong supporter of stop-and-frisk programs, …, who added that he wanted the practice expanded nationwide. </p>
<p>… Pence … supported denying non-emergency care for people who cannot afford a Medicare co-payment and opposed expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program.</p>
<p>… , Pence has kind of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/27/politics/mike-pence-donald-trump-climate-change-trade/">acknowledged</a> the fact-based nature of human action contributing to climate change but opposes ending any of the industrial, governmental, or corporate practices responsible. He has consistently advocated withdrawing from climate change agreements and treaties. Pence has an impressively atrocious record on environmental issues and a slavish devotion to big energy and big oil companies. [emphasis mine]</p>
</blockquote> Education Secretary Betsy DeVos likely to push Intelligent Designtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-01-20:2182797:Topic:27313982017-01-20T00:32:50.508ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/trumps-pick-education-secretary-refuses-disavow-teaching-intelligent-design-public" target="_blank">Trump's Pick for Education Secretary Refuses to Disavow Teaching Intelligent Design in Public Schools</a></p>
<blockquote><p>... <span>during her confirmation hearing Tuesday provides new reason to be concerned that DeVos, if confirmed, could have a hand in destroying the quality of science education in public schools across the country. When…</span></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/trumps-pick-education-secretary-refuses-disavow-teaching-intelligent-design-public" target="_blank">Trump's Pick for Education Secretary Refuses to Disavow Teaching Intelligent Design in Public Schools</a></p>
<blockquote><p>... <span>during her confirmation hearing Tuesday provides new reason to be concerned that DeVos, if confirmed, could have a hand in destroying the quality of science education in public schools across the country. When pressed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), she refused to disavow the teaching of intelligent design in public schools.</span></p>
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<p><span>So we could not only get public funds supporting private religious education, what's left of the public schools would be bereft of scientific integrity. </span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/files/styles/node-detail/public/story_images/betsy_devos_card_2016.jpg?itok=V6MA3Evm" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.prwatch.org/files/styles/node-detail/public/story_images/betsy_devos_card_2016.jpg?itok=V6MA3Evm&amp;width=400" width="400" class="align-center"/></a><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/11/13180/5-things-know-about-billionaire-betsy-devos-trump-choice-education" target="_blank">image source</a><br/></span></p>
<p></p> Churches descend into politicstag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-18:2182797:Topic:27193842016-11-18T21:19:03.587ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p>Simon Brown posted this, as he left five years with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.</p>
<blockquote><p>…, I am especially saddened on a personal level by Trump’s <a href="http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/there-he-goes-again-trump-repeats-attack-on-johnson-amendment">repeated promise</a> to repeal something called the “Johnson Amendment,” which was added to the federal tax code in 1954 thanks to the support of then-U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson (D-Texas). The…</p>
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<p>Simon Brown posted this, as he left five years with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.</p>
<blockquote><p>…, I am especially saddened on a personal level by Trump’s <a href="http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/there-he-goes-again-trump-repeats-attack-on-johnson-amendment">repeated promise</a> to repeal something called the “Johnson Amendment,” which was added to the federal tax code in 1954 thanks to the support of then-U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson (D-Texas). The amendment is intended to keep churches from endorsing or opposing candidates for office so that houses of worship do not turn into tiny political action committees that raise money for politicians.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/my-five-year-fight-against-the-religious-right" target="_blank">My Five-Year Fight Against The Religious Right</a></p>
<p>There goes the last line separating organized religion from politics. Maybe tRump will have himself declared divine, as ancient Roman emperors did.</p>
<p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-niC74mLdf5k/V5xJUkY53MI/AAAAAAABEZU/QSw5grVqBmIJGssiTzXdIXUl3WUOW1VKwCLcB/s640/god%2Bemperor.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-niC74mLdf5k/V5xJUkY53MI/AAAAAAABEZU/QSw5grVqBmIJGssiTzXdIXUl3WUOW1VKwCLcB/s640/god%2Bemperor.jpg?width=450" class="align-center" width="450"/></a><a href="http://montrealsimon.blogspot.com/2016/07/donald-trump-and-emperor-god.html" target="_blank">image source</a></p> Cyber jihadists attack Atheist groups on Facebooktag:atheistnexus.org,2016-08-13:2182797:Topic:27032252016-08-13T18:39:21.839ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p class="block text-block"><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMkoGWQfIIElAUp2qT6iIgoJQcW6UZvgwz15yZth2ig69ZUXWWHmLVI4G9LvCtVUYnz4ypiqbs1H6ujBEMEU7Uji/facebookvsfreespeech2.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMkoGWQfIIElAUp2qT6iIgoJQcW6UZvgwz15yZth2ig69ZUXWWHmLVI4G9LvCtVUYnz4ypiqbs1H6ujBEMEU7Uji/facebookvsfreespeech2.jpg?width=450" width="450"></img></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=%23facebookvsfreespeech" target="_blank">image source</a></p>
<p class="block text-block">This is an outrage!</p>
<blockquote><p class="block text-block">In February 2016, ten of the largest Arabic-speaking atheist groups, with a…</p>
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<p class="block text-block"><a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMkoGWQfIIElAUp2qT6iIgoJQcW6UZvgwz15yZth2ig69ZUXWWHmLVI4G9LvCtVUYnz4ypiqbs1H6ujBEMEU7Uji/facebookvsfreespeech2.jpg"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMkoGWQfIIElAUp2qT6iIgoJQcW6UZvgwz15yZth2ig69ZUXWWHmLVI4G9LvCtVUYnz4ypiqbs1H6ujBEMEU7Uji/facebookvsfreespeech2.jpg?width=450" width="450"/></a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=%23facebookvsfreespeech" target="_blank">image source</a></p>
<p class="block text-block">This is an outrage!</p>
<blockquote><p class="block text-block">In February 2016, ten of the largest Arabic-speaking atheist groups, with a total of about 100,000 members, have been deactivated for the same reason: heavy reporting campaigns that are organized by “cyber jihadist” fundamentalist Islamic groups, especially for the removal of any anti-Islamic group or page. In such coordinated campaigns, very large numbers of people, and possibly automated scripts, simultaneously file reports falsely claiming that a page, group, or personal account has violated Community Standards.</p>
<p class="block text-block">Representatives of AA-MENA <a target="_blank" href="https://www.change.org/p/mark-zuckerberg-stop-deleting-arab-atheists-and-seculars-groups-and-pages">petitioned</a> Mark Zuckerberg demanding that Facebook reactivate the removed groups. The petition was shared on most major atheist groups in the Arab world, the US, and the UK, and it has been supported by many prominent social media activism organizations such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/AtheistAllianceInternational">Atheist Alliance International</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/exmuslims">Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain</a> .</p>
<p>AA-MENA has adopted <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=%23facebookvsfreespeech">#FacebookVSFreeSpeech</a> as the hashtag of its Facebook event, Atheism: Campaigning to regain the right to free speech within Facebook Pages.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.tremr.com/movements/facebook-facing-heavy-criticism-after-removing-major-atheist-pages" target="_blank">Facebook Facing Heavy Criticism After Removing Major Atheist Pages</a></p>
<blockquote><p><a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMmc*k1jEHMfPd7-TkSJHOHbHwjGHysduUGMBq5o1hjgbzESX0KrUWOMAPDILnAqLW40c1RyHhdxtYACKWsU-uPF/atheistallianceofmiddleeast.jpg"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMmc*k1jEHMfPd7-TkSJHOHbHwjGHysduUGMBq5o1hjgbzESX0KrUWOMAPDILnAqLW40c1RyHhdxtYACKWsU-uPF/atheistallianceofmiddleeast.jpg?width=300" width="300"/></a></p>
<p class="block text-block"><strong>The Alliance has three goals for the free speech campaign:</strong></p>
<p class="block text-block">1. Reactivate the pages that were removed due to intensive, unfounded reporting activities;</p>
<p class="block text-block">2. Convince Facebook to respect the rights of irreligious individuals and groups in the MENA region as well as respect the freedom of thought and expression; and</p>
<p class="block text-block">3. Convince Facebook to reform its standard procedures in collecting and addressing reports in a way that ensures a just evaluation of any alleged violation of Community Standards.</p>
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<p class="block text-block">For irreligious people of the MENA region, social media outlets—especially Facebook—have become the only platform that they can safely use to express their thoughts and opinions, share their stories, and come together without feeling threatened.</p>
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<p class="block text-block"><a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMlSCNLFrdyWg5SI7DD7eCU7w60zO83DhLZJjxUoQEcfiBCGjiQ5RAq9D0cS-1U3UzaDuBSFuQVfbbjNQwmjA4L9/facebookvsfreespeech.jpg"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KDXu4vtJnMlSCNLFrdyWg5SI7DD7eCU7w60zO83DhLZJjxUoQEcfiBCGjiQ5RAq9D0cS-1U3UzaDuBSFuQVfbbjNQwmjA4L9/facebookvsfreespeech.jpg?width=450" width="450"/></a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=%23facebookvsfreespeech" target="_blank">image source</a></p> FABULOUS Article in US News!tag:atheistnexus.org,2016-01-08:2182797:Topic:26644502016-01-08T18:04:24.331ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p><a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/faith-matters/articles/2016-01-04/the-2016-race-privileges-religion?int=a39d09&amp;int=a60d09" target="_blank">Good Without God in 2016</a></p>
<p><br></br> Media should push back on the religious privilege in American politics.</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/9DhwROeyJ5XbtctTcJQnoMyTo0A3F5LfHPD-sWERbj4ce2468aWqbeXIij9E*km07luAIlZu7C-quPxCCMEy5SpNEDSH9p-t/download.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/9DhwROeyJ5XbtctTcJQnoMyTo0A3F5LfHPD-sWERbj4ce2468aWqbeXIij9E*km07luAIlZu7C-quPxCCMEy5SpNEDSH9p-t/download.jpg" width="540"></img></a></p>
<p><span>Not a prerequisite for…</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/faith-matters/articles/2016-01-04/the-2016-race-privileges-religion?int=a39d09&amp;int=a60d09" target="_blank">Good Without God in 2016</a></p>
<p><br/> Media should push back on the religious privilege in American politics.</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/9DhwROeyJ5XbtctTcJQnoMyTo0A3F5LfHPD-sWERbj4ce2468aWqbeXIij9E*km07luAIlZu7C-quPxCCMEy5SpNEDSH9p-t/download.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/9DhwROeyJ5XbtctTcJQnoMyTo0A3F5LfHPD-sWERbj4ce2468aWqbeXIij9E*km07luAIlZu7C-quPxCCMEy5SpNEDSH9p-t/download.jpg" class="align-full" width="540"/></a></p>
<p><span>Not a prerequisite for public office.</span></p>
<blockquote><p>Now that news editors have assembled and disseminated their end-of-year lists – Top 10 of This, Worst 5 of That – I'd like to mention one of the Most Missed Stories of 2015: how religious privilege plays out in American politics. You can't escape it, and yet it is almost always escaped.</p>
<p>What I mean by religious privilege is the presumption that being a member of a Judeo-Christian faith is better than having no religion or being a nonbeliever. This is something the news media routinely and uncritically accept.</p>
<p>The results are predictable: Nonbelievers can't run for office as openly secular, which skews public policy on issues such as women's reproductive freedom and whether evolution is taught in school, and politicians compete with each other to broadcast their sanctimony.</p>
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<p>This is well worth reading in its entirety, [<a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/faith-matters/articles/2016-01-04/the-2016-race-privileges-religion?int=a39d09&amp;int=a60d09" target="_blank">here</a>] as it includes numerous examples of Republican clown car lunacy and links to great cartoons. The author, Robyn Blumner, is president and CEO of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason &amp; Science and project director of Openly Secular.</p>
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<p>The Grateful Dead did a song titled <em>I may be going to hell in a bucket but at least I'm enjoying the ride.</em> This article alone has made the 2016 part of the ride better.</p> A straight up truth from Pope Frankie's mouth!tag:atheistnexus.org,2015-12-01:2182797:Topic:26581762015-12-01T23:47:56.443ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p><strong>Pope says fundamentalism is 'disease of all religions'</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Aboard the papal plane (AFP) - Pope Francis said fundamentalism is "a disease of all religions", including the Roman Catholic Church, as he returned from a three-nation tour of Africa in which he preached reconciliation and hope.</p>
<p>"Fundamentalism is always a tragedy. It is not religious, it lacks God, it is idolatrous," the Argentine pontiff told journalists on the plane back from the Central…</p>
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<p><strong>Pope says fundamentalism is 'disease of all religions'</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Aboard the papal plane (AFP) - Pope Francis said fundamentalism is "a disease of all religions", including the Roman Catholic Church, as he returned from a three-nation tour of Africa in which he preached reconciliation and hope.</p>
<p>"Fundamentalism is always a tragedy. It is not religious, it lacks God, it is idolatrous," the Argentine pontiff told journalists on the plane back from the Central African Republic.</p>
<p>. . . "We Catholics, we have a few, even many fundamentalists. They believe they know absolute truth and corrupt others," he said, adding: "I can say this because this is my Church."</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, "believing they know absolute truth" and "corrupting others" is also the mainstay of the entire Catholic religion. One simple case in point. When confronted with their misogyny, they claim they have no power to change their policies because they're directly based on god's will. If that's not the height of arrogance, hypocrisy and bad faith, I don't know what is.</p>
<p>He didn't mention, of course, that the only way to root out the disease is to root out the religions.</p> Valerie Tarico Interviews Chris Johnson, Creator of Atheist-Themed Book and Documentary Film, A Better Lifetag:atheistnexus.org,2015-08-30:2182797:Topic:26409242015-08-30T17:23:54.412ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p>I hadn't run across the name Chris Johnson before reading this article from Alternet/Salon, but Johnson published <em>A Better Life</em> last year, a coffee table book in which he details the lives of various atheists. This year he released a film with the same title and it's being shown around the world.</p>
<p>The whole article is <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/08/30/there_is_no_god_now_what_finding_meaning_in_an_atheist_world_partner/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>Some high…</p>
<p>I hadn't run across the name Chris Johnson before reading this article from Alternet/Salon, but Johnson published <em>A Better Life</em> last year, a coffee table book in which he details the lives of various atheists. This year he released a film with the same title and it's being shown around the world.</p>
<p>The whole article is <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/08/30/there_is_no_god_now_what_finding_meaning_in_an_atheist_world_partner/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>Some high points:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Our public conversation about atheism is two dimensional,” says Johnson. “It’s time to open the next phase. For ten years we’ve talked about what we don’t believe in. The dialogue kicked off by the New Atheist movement was much needed, but after we strip away gods and superstition, what is left? How do we see ourselves and our lives and our relationships? That’s what we need to talk about next.”</p>
<p><br/> . . . he is keenly aware of the stereotypes that make atheists one of America’s least electable minorities: male, white, hyper-intellectual, hedonistic, untrustworthy, and living empty lives devoid of purpose and meaning. By contrast with the common image, Johnson’s documentary reveals a diverse tapestry of people who live in “a world without gods.”</p>
<p><br/> . . . Religion makes you worry about things for no reason–the concept of sin, etc. Or like all the money that gets put into opposing same sex marriage–and for what? To stop two consenting adults from being happy? <strong>It’s just crazy that people waste so much time on things that don’t affect them. When you strip away all of the unnecessary rules and worries, you can focus more on the things that really do matter in the short time that we have to be alive.</strong></p>
<p><br/> . . . Letting go of gods is just a starting point. A better life means embracing our sense of awe and wonder, our place in the universe and creating a new understanding of our most profound experiences—whether that is a glimpse of the night sky or an intimate relationship.</p>
</blockquote> Atheists Become More Visible and Vocal in Zambiatag:atheistnexus.org,2015-07-03:2182797:Topic:26188492015-07-03T17:58:07.777ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p>Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. <a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/igwe20150623" target="_blank">ieet.org</a>.</p>
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<p><em>..Zambia is a very religious nation... officially declared a Christian nation by President Federick Chiluba in 1996.. Eighty seven percent of the population is Christian and only twelve percent profess other faiths. The number of non-believers is too low to measure. Apparently, Zambia is 100 percent religious and…</em></p>
<p>Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. <a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/igwe20150623" target="_blank">ieet.org</a>.</p>
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<p><em>..Zambia is a very religious nation... officially declared a Christian nation by President Federick Chiluba in 1996.. Eighty seven percent of the population is Christian and only twelve percent profess other faiths. The number of non-believers is too low to measure. Apparently, Zambia is 100 percent religious and theistic.</em></p>
<p><em>But recently, the country’s religious demography has begun to change. Atheists are leaving their closets and are starting to organise. Atheists in Zambia are becoming assertive and are making their voices heard. They are standing up and identifying as atheists in public. An atheist group has just been formed in Zambia and a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1612600862312573/">Facebook page has been created</a>. It is called the Atheists in Zambia. This group is the first of its kind in the country and signals a bright and promising future for freethought in this Southern African country.</em></p>
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<p>Some important points -</p>
<p>#Organized atheism is a new phenomenon in Zambia.</p>
<p>#The internet has made organization and mobilization easier.</p>
<p>#There is pressure for atheists in Africa to remain in the closet, for family reasons and safety.</p>
<p>#Zambia is highly superstitious. Many believe in witchcraft.</p>
<p>#<em>Recently there have been reports of witch killing, the killing of Satanists, of albinos and the murder and mutilation of persons for ritual purposes</em>.</p>
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<p>I find it inspiring that there are courageous people in places like Zambia, advocating for rational thought. In Africa, that's amazing.</p>
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<p></p> Former Megachurch Pastor Convicted of Molesting his Sisters.tag:atheistnexus.org,2015-07-02:2182797:Topic:26171332015-07-02T19:56:49.540ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p><a href="http://www.christiantoday.com/article/geronimo.aguilar.ex.megachurch.pastor.found.guilty.of.sexual.assault/57475.htm" target="_blank">Christianity Today.</a></p>
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<p><em>"megachurch pastor Geronimo Aguilar, 45, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting his two sisters almost 20 years ago, who were only 13 and 11 years old at the time, according to the District Attorney's office in Fort Worth, Texas.</em>"</p>
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<p><strong>Major points -</strong></p>
<p>*Aguilar…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.christiantoday.com/article/geronimo.aguilar.ex.megachurch.pastor.found.guilty.of.sexual.assault/57475.htm" target="_blank">Christianity Today.</a></p>
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<p><em>"megachurch pastor Geronimo Aguilar, 45, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting his two sisters almost 20 years ago, who were only 13 and 11 years old at the time, according to the District Attorney's office in Fort Worth, Texas.</em>"</p>
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<p><strong>Major points -</strong></p>
<p>*Aguilar founded the Richmond Outreach Center (ROC) in Richmond, Virginia.</p>
<p>*Aguilar stepped down in 2013 after being charged with aggravated sexual assault.</p>
<p>*Aguilar denies the charges.Aguilar admits to sexual affairs.</p>
<p>*Aguilar reported that he feels hurt, that he was charged with these offenses.</p>
<p>*Aguilar's church, "The Richmond Outreach Center" has changed its name to "Celebration Church and Outreach Ministry". <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Outreach_Center" target="_blank">From Wikipedi</a>a, "<em>In September 2013, the ROC Board of Directors stated that “After our former pastor was arrested related to charges in Texas, the board of directors became aware of his multiple extramarital affairs with members of our church and community.” Furthermore, the board stated “This biblically disqualified him from the office of pastor and leadership of the ROC in any capacity. The board of directors is committed to providing godly leadership at all levels of ministry.</em>”</p>
<p>*As of 2009, ROC had more than 10,000 members in weekly attendance.</p>
<p>*The ROC has recovery programs and homes for the drug addicted, the homeless, former convicts, and battered women.</p>
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